The Nimbus Commandos
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Galaxy at War See also: GaW Military Units Extremely specialized and deadly dangerous, The Nimbus Commandos is the most lethal fighting force on the rain-soaked planet of Jabiim. Although the group was founded in the years just prior to the Clone Wars, its roots go back 3,000 years to Jabiim's colonization. The Jabiim settlers form a ground army and a small stellar navy in response to incursions by Trandoshan raiders attempting to steal Jabiimi ore stockpiles. Elite divisions within the Jabiim Army are created to handle the most difficult tasks, and these special forces- consisting of units such as the Black Gauntlets, the D.E.E.P., and the Stone Torrent- eventually become a third military branch. Jabiimi special forces prove instrumental in driving off the Lythian Pirates and other threats. Alto Stratus, a commander within the Bronze Nimbus, becomes disillusioned with the cowardice of the Jabiim Army's generals and the lack of assistance from the Republic or its Jedi. Stratus ties the the Bronze Nimbus more closely to his personal command, drawing elements of the Jabiim Army into his cult of personality. When war breaks out between the Republic and Count Dooku's Separatists, Stratus seizes the opportunity to stage a coup. His Nimbus Commandos assassinate key members of the ruling Jabiim Council. Stratus then uses his influence to ally Jabiim with the Separatists. He consolidates the regular military, renamed the Nationalist Army, in order to maintain public order. The Republic then view Jabiim as an enemy and move to secure Jabiim's ore deposits for itself. The Republic lands a ground force and joins the anti-Stratus faction of the former Jabiim Army, now called the Jabiim Loyalists. In the exhausting slog and battles that follow, the Republic's Jedi and Clone Troopers are outmatched by the opposing Jabiimi, who have spent their lives training and fighting in the planet's rainy muck. The Nimbus Commandos prove especially lethal, destroying AT-ATs with minefields and limpet charges, and slaughtering Jedi forces in an ambush at the Republic's Shelter Base. Stratus loses his life in the final push against Cobalt Station, but his war had been won- a shamed Republic withdraws from Jabiim in defeat. The ranking member of the surviving Nimbus Commandos, Colonel Mazzi, rallies the Nationalist Army to maintain military control of Jabiim. After the Clone Wars, The Nimbus Commandos works with the Empire to put down uprisings by Jabiimi Loyalist holdouts. Stormtroopers prove ineffective in Jabiim's specialized terrain, and The Nimbus Commandos are given free rein in suppressing dissent. Methods Members of The Nimbus Commandos are the ultimate swamp fighters. Jabiim is a mud ball soaked by constant drizzle and its atmosphere is an ionized crackle of electricity, making high-altitude repulsorlift Vehicles impossible to operate. The Nimbus' fighters are the best of a fighting force that has been perfecting high-precipitation ground combat for three thousand years. Nimbus Commandos are inexperienced pilots, and they fare poorly in urban and zero-gravity combat environments. But in their native habitat, they are unstoppable. The Nimbus Commandos are called upon for missions including retrieval, sabotage, assassination, and destruction of reinforced targets. Its signature piece of gear, the Repulsorlift Skate, allows its members to skim 3 meters above land or water at speeds of up to 95 kilometers per hour. Using skates, commandos in squads of three can penetrate enemy lines and reach heavy equipment, which they destroy with timed Explosive Charges or Grenades. The Nimbus Commandos often employ minefields, since the skates' repulsor field allows a wearer to glide over a live Mine without triggering it. A Nimbus Commando unit carries a great deal of equipment into the field crammed into belts and backpacks. This gear includes Explosive Charges, ammunition, nonperishable rations, waterproofing spray, thermal warming units, and low-altitude communications boosters. The commandos are expert survivalists and are skilled with edged weapons including swords, daggers, and machetes. During the Clone Wars, The Nimbus Commandos adopt the Separatist Commando Blaster Rifle, a weapon capable of both long-range sniping and semiautomatic rapid fire as well as of launching concussive sonic blasts. Another Clone Wars introduction, the A-Series Assassin Droid, works alongside members of The Nimbus Commandos and uses blasters, flechette launchers, and cutting blades to damage organics. Many A-Series units continued to serve The Nimbus Commandos throughout The New Jedi Order Era and beyond. Missions Prior to the Battle of Jabiim, The Nimbus Commandos are an outgunned insurgent force zealously devoted to its leader, Alto Stratus. A dozen handpicked members serve as personal bodyguards for Stratus, with the remainder split into troops with specializations including infiltration, breaching, sniping, explosives disposal, high-speed reconnaissance, and assassination. As Stratus begins his civil war against the Jabiimi government, The Nimbus Commandos kill members of the Jabiim Council and carries out shadow missions, including kidnapping and data theft, to give Stratus the leverage he needs to blackmail the other councilors into following his orders. The Nimbus Commandos destroy armories to soften up the Jabiimi Loyalists so that the Nationalist Army can engage the Loyalists in battle on an equal footing. When Stratus decides to ally with The Confederacy of Independent Systems, The Nimbus Commandos gain access to offworld equipment such as the A-Series Assassin Droid, which increases the range and complexity of the mission the Commandos can execute. Stratus perishes in battle against Republic troops, but The Nimbus Commandos live on. Its position of power during the Imperial years requires it to expand its traditional tactics. In response to the guerilla tactics of the Jabiimi Loyalists, The Nimbus Commandos devotes more resources to intelligence and counterterrorism. The Nimbus Commandos are rarely encountered off Jabiim, but its members sometimes work as mercenaries on swampy battlefields. One such planet is Nal Hutta, where the Hutt clan Gejalli is rumored to keep more than a dozen members of The Nimbus Commandos on retainer. Rank Structure Alto Stratus is the commander-in-chief of both the Nationalist Army and The Nimbus Commandos through the Battle of Jabiim. Following the battle, Colonel Mazzi assumes command and transforms The Nimbus Commandos into an elite decision-making group that hold sway over the soldiers of the Nationalist Army. The rank structure of The Nimbus Commandos remains the same under both leaders. Only enlisted soldiers in the Jabiimi armed forces can apply for the Nimbus Program, although highly skilled Loyalist defectors sometimes are accepted into its ranks. The indoctrination is grueling, but successful initiates are welcomes as senior enlisted and receive the rank of Nimbus Trooper. They are then assigned to one of the two troops that makes up a Nimbus Team, which consists of 100 or more members. Each troop is divided into two platoons (Each led by a Nimbus Lieutenant), four squads (Each led by a Master Trooper), or 12 four-person fire teams (Each led by a Task Unit Commander). Advancement through the ranks can be rapid and chaotic; the battles on Jabiim often see scores of members of The Nimbus Commandos die in a single engagement. Officers at the Task Unit Commander level or above are issued better battlefield equipment that is less prone to water damage than that of regular troops, and they command Jabiim's limited supply of A-Series Assassin Droids. Jabiim is a hard world, but members of the Nimbus speak of it with patriotic fervor. Going offworld to seek an easier life is considered by many to be a waste of their skills and a betrayal of their beliefs. The few members of The Nimbus Commandos who leave Jabiim during the time of The New Republic find work only on similar planets where their environment skills prove exceptional, and many of them eventually return to their muddy homeworld. Nimbus Nonheroic Units See also: Nonheroic Units